Chancellor Angela Merkel retreated from German demands that bondholders be forced to shoulder a “substantial” share of a Greek rescue, saying she’ll work with the European Central Bank (ECB) to avoid disrupting markets.
“We would like to have a participation of private creditors on a voluntary basis,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin on Friday at a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. This “should be worked out jointly with the ECB and there shouldn’t be any dispute with the ECB on this.” Merkel declined to give a date for the detail of the aid package.